


It Had to be You

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-01-30
Packaged: 2018-01-10 13:23:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1160209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But for all she knew this man was somewhere in Middle America sharpening his knives.  He could have a basement full of 50something women that he'd wooed on the World Wide Web.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Had to be You

**Author's Note:**

> You might have to suspend your disbelief for a few minutes to read this fic. In my biased opinion, it’s totally worth it.

**So Let it be Written** : I’ve never done anything like this in my life.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I'm sure that’s what they all say.

 **So Let it be Written:** When I say it, it’s true.

 **Blonde Ambition:** So why now?

 **So Let it be Written:** I hate the internet.

 **Blonde Ambition:** That doesn’t answer my question.

 **So Let it be Written:** Ladies first.

 **Blonde Ambition:** This was my children’s idea. They want me to get out more, meet people, something or other. They say I work too much, which I won't deny. They say their father is dating. It’s easy for a 55 male doctor to meet women. All he has to do is smile and flash that black Amex.

 **So Let it be Written:** Not all 55 year old men are like that, even the ones with the Black Amex.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You don’t smile much *wink*

 **So Let it be Written:** Probably not as much as I should these days.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I gave, now you have to give.

 **So Let it be Written:** My friends, and I loathe to call them that at the moment, set up the account. I don’t really understand why and they haven’t given a worthwhile explanation. I'm just grateful that they didn’t put my face up all over the internet. I appreciate what little privacy I have left in my life. The NSA is probably reading this right now.

 **Blonde Ambition:** They lost interest when they realized we weren’t having cyber-sex. I like your avatar. It’s honestly the first thing I noticed when I got your message.

 **So Let it be Written:** I love scotch and books. Yours isn’t bad either.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I didn’t want to show my face to the whole wide world. It’s not that I'm ashamed, I just find the whole thing a little strange. I worry about online interaction…you don’t always know who you're talking to. I never expected to meet anyone here but I figured if I did I would reveal myself when we were both comfortable.

 **So Let it be Written:** So who do you think I am?

She leaned back on the pillows and smiled. Then she picked up her wineglass, sipping the Yellowtail Riesling. There were probably a million things she could say. She didn’t want to be hurtful because she actually liked So Let it be Written. That didn’t mean this whole thing wasn’t foreign to her. 

It was the 21st century; lots of people found love online. Erin Strauss never thought she’d be one of those people. She was unhappy her children set up the profile. The website advertised more for building all kinds of relationships for people over 40, not just dating. 

Still, it was clear why most people were there. She was flattered but wary when the first few messages came in. So far he’d been the only person she talked to. It had been a month, and countless conversations. 

Erin didn’t want to admit she looked forward to it now. Chatting with him made her smile. It loosened her shoulders and let her exhale after long days. But for all she knew this man was somewhere in Middle America sharpening his knives. He could have a basement full of 50something women that he'd wooed on the World Wide Web.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Tom Hanks comes to mind. Maybe I've just seen too many predictable romantic comedies but this whole thing has _You’ve Got Mail_ written all over it.

So Let it be Written: I prefer _The Shop around the Corner_.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan weren’t talking online. Who do you think I am, Mr. Glenfiddich?

 **So Let it be Written:** You know your spirits.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I know a lot of things.

 **So Let it be Written:** I just picture Kim Novak when I'm talking to you. It was a good choice for your avatar. She’s sassy, sultry, and smart. She has an aura of mystery and yet can be so accessible to the right person. I want to know more but am attracted to all that I don’t.

 **Blonde Ambition:** The writer in you is showing.

 **So Let it be Written:** You still haven’t told me exactly what it is you do for a living. Are you in the CIA?

 **Blonde Ambition:** LOL, I work in an office.

 **So Let it be Written:** No, not someone like you.

 **Blonde Ambition:** What does that mean?

 **So Let it be Written:** I don’t get the “office” vibe from you. That seems so restricting and even though you say this online thing wasn’t your idea you're doing it anyway. You think outside the box.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I get to be whatever I want here. I can't always be that way at work. There are rules that have to be followed. But I love what I do; I've earned the right to work in that office. It wasn’t easy and it still isn’t. But it’s mine.

 **So Let it be Written:** Oh hell, I have to go. Dammit.

Blonde Ambition: Go? We just got on…I'm sorry. I'm sure you're a very busy man. Just because I'm done for the night doesn’t mean that everyone is.

 **So Let it be Written:** No, I'm not done for the night and this might be a long one. If you're going to sleep, catch a few Z’s for me.

 **Blonde Ambition:** What's going to keep you awake?

 **So Let it be Written:** Group meeting. I don’t work alone.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I know you're a writer. Do you write in a group? Are you one of the Rolling Stones? Charlie is my favorite…tell him I said hello.

 **So Let it be Written:** LOL, I wish. Though I've had a few groupies in my time.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Now that’s a story I have to hear.

 **So Let it be Written:** And I’ll tell you, soon. I'm not sure I'm going to be on tomorrow; work has been busy for the past few days. Perhaps we should exchange email addresses or plan some other mode of communication.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Some other mode like what?

 **So Let it be Written:** I'm not entirely sure but I’ll think about it. I have to go, I’ll send a message tomorrow and we’ll make plans to talk again. Goodnight.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Goodnight, don’t work too hard.

Dave closed the message box and sighed. He suggested other plans; felt her shutting down. He didn’t even know why he suggested it. While they had been talking for a month that didn’t mean they knew each other. But Dave felt awkward on his laptop. 

He loved people, loved talking to them, and hearing their stories. Out there in cyberspace there was so much minutiae; so many walls separating human beings even though they believed it brought them closer. At the same time Dave wouldn’t even know her if not for this website. He didn’t know where she lived, didn’t know what she really did for a living, he wasn’t even sure if he knew what color her hair was. All he did know was that he grew up in New York, she grew up in New York, and they both currently lived in the DC Corridor. 

Why not meet up somewhere and get it all over with? Maybe they'd have no chemistry. A couple of good times online didn’t round out to a love match. He put his laptop on sleep, set it on the hotel bed next to him, got up, and went over to the desk. There was work to do before bed tonight and hopefully a profile to present in the morning. Right now matters of the heart, or the computer, were going to have to take a backseat to that.

***

**So Let it be Written:** You're not a vegetarian are you? I know that’s a strange question but work with me for a moment.

Erin walked into her office on a rainy late Wednesday morning. She heard the double beep of a notification on her cell phone. The phone was on her desk; Erin closed the door as she walked over and opened it. Instant messaging on the website was open, So Let it be Written was writing to her again. 

It had been two days since she heard from him. A part of Erin missed him and a part of her hated herself for feeling that way. She didn’t really know this man. As soon as she saw the message, she smiled and felt the butterflies in her stomach. Erin was too old for this but something about it was amazing anyway.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Salad can be a great thing…so can steak and lobster. I like a little bit of everything.

 **So Let it be Written:** Will you have dinner with me?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I don't know.

 **So Let it be Written:** I appreciate your honesty. Think about it. We both live in the Corridor so I'm sure we can find a well-lit, public place whose fare we enjoy.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I’ll think about it. Are you back home?

 **So Let it be Written:** No, I'm still on the road. It never ends. 

**Blonde Ambition:** I’ll message you later. It’s going to be busy here today so you’ll hear from me this evening.

 **So Let it be Written:** I look forward to it.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Hey, are you a vegetarian?

 **So Let it be Written:** Almost any answer I have to that would be sexual in nature. So, I decline to answer due to my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Cute. Talk to you later.

 **So Let it be Written:** See ya, Blondie.

She read his last line about five times, each time smiling more than the last. Erin needed to talk to someone about this. She also needed to get to work. The work would always be there though. So she scrolled through her cell phone address book, sliding her finger across the name and number when she got to it. The conversation didn’t need to be long but Erin needed to have it.

“Hi sweetheart.”

“Mum, how are you?”

“I'm fine; how are you?”

“Busy.” Erin smiled.

“You're always busy. It’s the middle of the afternoon in the middle of the week. What's the matter?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something. I've met someone, except I haven’t quite met him.”

“Is this a man from the website Nora signed you up for?” Joanna Parkinson-Kane asked.

“You know about that?”

“Nora told me that you weren’t pleased about it. I told her that I wasn’t going to take sides but couldn’t disagree that you needed something else in your life other than the job. you have much more to offer.”

“I met someone but what if he's a serial killer?” Erin asked. “I don’t want to end up on a milk carton because my kids think I'm lonely.”

“What if a man you met at a museum or bar was a serial killer?” her mother asked. “If you worry about that for everyone you meet then you would never leave the house.”

“He asked me to dinner…we both live in the Corridor.”

“Say yes, if you like him.”

“I think I like him. I don’t know a lot about him because we've only talked online, but he makes me smile. It’s not a crime to want to get to know him better. Or maybe it'll turn out that we don’t have much in common. I should probably know before I invest anything more though.”

“That’s a good way to look at it.” Joanna said. “Is he handsome? I know people put all kinds of selfies up on social networking sites.”

“This is a friendship site for people over 40, which is insane enough.” Erin replied. “His avatar isn’t his face and he hasn’t posted any selfies. They usually say don’t get close to people who don’t post pictures but I figure that someone could post fake ones to draw you in anyway. Though scary, it’s also refreshing to get to know a person and not just focus on their physical aspects.”

“You’ve worked cybercrimes.”

“Yes I have.” Erin nodded.

“And who are _they_?” Joanna asked. “You said that they usually say don’t get close to people who don’t post pictures.”

“ _They_ are the people who dictate this kind of thing. I have no earthly idea who they actually are.”

“It’s a free meal and a night you won't take work home. You said you'd think about it; just make sure you do.”

“OK. I have to go; I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Call me tomorrow.”

“I will Mum. Bye.”

Erin put her cell phone back on her desk and focused on her desktop. There was plenty of work to do. She’d been right in the middle of typing up and emailing case files to her boss. That would take another 90 minutes or so. Then she planned to order lunch, going over personnel files while she ate. 

Evaluations were coming and she wanted to be ready. Erin would have plenty of agents to sit down with. Thankfully she didn’t have to use the same process with civilians at the NCAVC or she would never leave the office. A night off, where the FBI didn’t even enter her mind, would be a miracle. A night off with an intriguing man and dinner would be something almost no woman in her right mind would object to. Erin planned to think long and hard about her next move with So Let it be Written.

***

**Blonde Ambition:** I'm wearing a bathrobe right now.

 **So Let it be Written:** And I'm smiling ear to ear. Is it terrycloth?

 **Blonde Ambition:** Yes. My mother bought it for my birthday. It’s slightly too big but it’s therapeutic. It came with a silk bag full of different sprays that are good for a variety of moods and emotions. So the premise is you take a hot bath, dry off, spray down your robe, and wrap yourself in it. I find this works even better if you add Carly Simon and wine.

 **So Let it be Written:** _Let the River Run_ , huh? *g*

 **Blonde Ambition:** You're not a Carly Simon fan? I hear the way you said it.

 **So Let it be Written:** I like her 70s music better than her 80s music but most women I know disagree with me.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I disagree with you. I love all of her music but _Coming around Again_ changed my life. You want to believe you know everything in your 20s, while secretly knowing you don’t and hope no one ever finds out. After hearing that album I knew I still had a long way to go. But I’d been a fan of hers forever. My mother was a fan who gave Carly to me and I passed the knowledge onto my daughter. I never asked you if you had children.

 **So Let it be Written** : I don’t.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You're a fifty-something man with no children. Hmm…

 **So Let it be Written:** I thought I might make a good father once. And then life started happening and I just got older and older, which of course beats the alternative. But once you reach a certain phase of life the thought of being a first time father doesn’t suit you. You have two children, right?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I have three. Never have I met three more dissimilar human beings. The only thing they have in common is that they came from my womb. They hardly like the same foods, definitely don’t like the same music, and go through love/hate peaks and waves with their father and I all at different times.

 **So Let it be Written:** Sounds like a joy *g*

 **Blonde Ambition:** I wouldn’t exchange it for all the riches in the world. I know you’ve been married before. I remember we discussed that one night over that bad Lifetime movie we both happen to be watching.

 **So Let it be Written:** I've been married, yes. I've been married twice…and divorced twice.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Are you looking for #3?

 **So Let it be Written:** That’s a long story.

 **Blonde Ambition:** We could talk about it over coffee.

 **So Let it be Written:** Coffee?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I need to take this slow. 

**So Let it be Written:** I get it…you need an escape hatch.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I'm sorry?

 **So Let it be Written:** Dinner can go for about 2 hours. If I turn out to be dreadfully boring or the most pompous man on earth, you’d need to chew off your arm to escape. With coffee it’s a good 45 minutes, which I'm sure a woman of your grace could survive much easier.

 **Blonde Ambition:** So do you want to have coffee?

 **So Let it be Written:** I do.

 **Blonde Ambition:** The rest of this week is pretty busy for me and I've got family things happening on the weekend. What about next Tuesday? That’s eight days from now.

 **So Let it be Written:** You pick the place and I’ll be there. I know you have some apprehensions so if we go someplace comfortable and familiar to you it might ease your mind.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Have you ever been to Tryst in Adams Morgan?

 **So Let it be Written:** No, but I like the sound of it already *g*

 **Blonde Ambition:** Next Tuesday, 7 o’clock, we’ll meet at the front door.

 **So Let it be Written:** How will I know it’s you?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I’ll style my hair like Kim Novak in _Vertigo_.

 **So Let it be Written:** There's a strong possibility I could fall in love with you. I just want to warn you. A woman has to be careful when playing with Kim Novak, or any Hitchcock heroine really.

 **Blonde Ambition:** How will I know it’s you?

 **So Let it be Written:** I’ll carry a copy of _A Kiss before Dying_.

 **Blonde Ambition:** That’s my favorite book.

 **So Let it be Written:** It’s your favorite modern novel, not that I pretend to know more about you than you do. So wrapped in your scented terrycloth robe means you have some time to talk.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You're not running off somewhere?

 **So Let it be Written:** Not tonight. I told the group I had a date.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Was it hard for them to believe?

 **So Let it be Written:** No, LOL.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Tell me why that is.

 **So Let it be Written:** Tell me what perfume you like to wear.

 **Blonde Ambition:** So you can imagine Kim Novak sitting at a vanity table in Hays Code-acceptable lingerie spraying it on her pulse points?

 **So Let it be Written:** That wasn’t why but now that you mentioned it…YES!

 **Blonde Ambition:** I’m not telling you. *g*

 **So Let it be Written:** I can't possibly guess, there's too many to choose from. What did you wear today?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I wore Red Door.

 **So Let it be Written:** Elizabeth Arden.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You know your scents.

 **So Let it be Written:** I do. I'm sure you smelled amazing.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I don’t want to brag but yes, I did, LOL. It really fit my mood today.

 **So Let it be Written:** Tell me something else about you, Blondie. Tell me something no one knows.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You want to know a secret?

 **So Let it be Written** : I just want to know more about you. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well over this last month, and I've enjoyed talking to you. It would be interesting to know something about you that I wouldn’t expect. I think we all have expectations, I like having them shattered.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Beyoncé.

 **So Let it be Written:** I'm intrigued.

 **Blonde Ambition:** This might sound weird but when it comes to Beyoncé I turn into a 15 year old girl. I love her; I love her music. I dance to it in my kitchen and sometimes after my bath. My teenage son thought I would like her and he was right. She’s not just a musician; she's a lifestyle.

 **So Let it be Written:** I'm never going to get that image out of my head. I sincerely thank you for that.

 **Blonde Ambition:** What image is that?

 **So Let it be Written:** You, dancing in your underwear to _Bootylicious_ after a long day at the office.

Dave laughed as he finished typing. It was the last thing he expected to hear and he was glad about that. He also had no problem fantasizing about this woman dancing in her underwear. She made him feel that pull in his belly, which he hadn’t felt in some time. It wasn’t just sexual. 

It surely wasn’t physical since he didn’t know what she looked like. There was much more to her. A part of him couldn’t wait to meet her and wrap his arms around her, if she let him. Another part of him almost dreaded it…the delicious mystery of her would be gone. No, she would always be a mystery to him. That was probably what attracted him the most.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Is this a Kim Novak thing again?

 **So Let it be Written:** No, this is 100% a Blonde Ambition thing.

 **Blonde Ambition:** What about you? Tell me something about you that no one knows.

 **So Let it be Written:** I'm not a womanizer. I think people assume because I've had a nice number of women in my life that I'm this Lothario. I'm not. I love women, who wouldn’t love women, but I love the idea of being with that one who knows you, who gets you (even the parts you don’t quite get yourself), who loves you. I don’t know if anyone would believe me if I ever said it aloud. My reputation precedes me.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Why is that?

 **So Let it be Written:** The legend is always better than the truth. Maybe that’s some of the reason I'm a writer.

 **Blonde Ambition:** One womanizer was enough for me. My husband strayed. He’d never admit but a wife knows. You know the look in someone’s eye when they're lying to you. Lies are where I draw the line. I've committed my fair share of sins but lying is something that always pissed me off. I think we do it so much non-verbally, intentionally deceive, when it becomes verbal it makes me sick to my stomach. Does that make sense?

 **So Let it be Written:** I definitely understand. Maybe that’s what worries me so much about this website. On some parts of the web, people give what I consider to be too much information. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…I only know these places because of my job. Whole lives are put on display for strangers to see and judge. But websites that offer more intimate settings often allow people to conceal aspects of themselves. Some of those aspects are dangerous. Some they just find undesirable. But if the whole point is to eventually meet, communicate face to face, we’re going to find them out anyway.

 **Blonde Ambition:** What are you concealing, Mister?

 **So Let it be Written:** I’ll tell you more when I meet you.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Coffee.

 **So Let it be Written:** Coffee _and_ dessert. I'm a fan of dessert.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Me too. I probably need to get some sleep. On a night I can get eight hours to not do so is nearly criminal. Are you still out of town?

 **So Let it be Written:** I hope to be back in the next few days. It’ll be good to sleep in my own bed again. I miss my sheets. I miss my dog.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You have a dog? 

**So Let it be Written:** You're a dog person?

 **Blonde Ambition:** Not really, no.

 **So Let it be Written:** LOL, yes I have a dog. I'm not sure if he recognizes me anymore because I've been gone so much, but he's my best friend. We’ll talk some more about him next time.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Definitely. Have a good night alright.

 **So Let it be Written:** You do the same. Sweet dreams.

***

Erin expected long, hard days. She expected that sometimes she would want to throw things against the wall in rage or even cry. She expected to take hot baths and have a couple of glasses of wine or one glass of something stronger. But her weekends were sacred. The once or twice a month where she actually took both days off were something to look forward to with an almost child-like glee. Staying up late on Saturday nights reading, connecting with an old friend, or even surfing the web checking out her hobbies. Nothing was supposed to bring her down on her free weekends.

 **So Let it be Written:** Something’s wrong.

 **Blonde Ambition:** It’s the weekend; I should be relaxed. There's a lot going on right now.

 **So Let it be Written:** It’s alright if you don’t want to talk tonight. Believe me, I will take no offense.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I do want to talk. It’s not just about distraction either. You make me feel better.

 **So Let it be Written:** You said yesterday would be family time. What did you do?

 **Blonde Ambition:** My son had a lacrosse game. He's great at the sport…a lot of colleges are looking at him. It’s tough to keep the vultures away. Anyway, I went to see him play.

 **So Let it be Written:** Did his team win?

 **Blonde Ambition:** They lost but he made a point. He had some saves, blocks, and other lacrosse terms I don't know. He was named Player of the Game.

 **So Let it be Written:** That’s good to hear.

 **Blonde Ambition:** My ex was there.

 **So Let it be Written:** Ahh…I know exactly what that’s like.

 **Blonde Ambition:** He brought his new girlfriend. It’s not jealousy, it’s really not. It’s more like rage. I don’t even know why I care. 

**So Let it be Written:** I'm assuming at one point that you loved him. You had a family together. You spent years of your life working on the life you had together.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I haven’t loved him for a long time. That didn’t mean I wanted to see him with a 32 year old on his arm. She wore stilettoes to a lacrosse game. Who the hell does that?

 **So Let it be Written:** She sounds lovely. Though I don’t know her so I shouldn’t judge.

 **Blonde Ambition:** She was beautiful, looked just like me at that age. All men have types…my ex likes blondes. 

**So Let it be Written:** All you have in common is your hair color?

 **Blonde Ambition:** She has the same color eyes that I do too. She's not the spitting image of me but we look similar. Even my son mentioned that.

 **So Let it be Written:** You'll show him, I'm ridiculously handsome. Ex won't know what hit him.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Oh really?

Erin laughed. Slowly, the gray cloud over her head lifted. She hadn’t expected her ex yesterday. Warnings about those interactions were better; Erin could put on her armor. When he came walking across the grass with that woman it made her want to gag. And he actually thought it was OK to sit in front of her and make nice. 

Erin eventually got up; said there was another parent she needed to talk to. The worst part was that Ted apologized for it later that evening. He’d been apologizing for his father’s shortcomings for most of his life. Erin could never figure out why he did that. She told him in the most loving way possible that it was time to stop.

 **So Let it be Written** : I don’t like to brag but I think I get better with age. It’s an Italian thing.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You're Italian?

 **So Let it be Written:** Is this the part where you tell me that you hate Italian men?

 **Blonde Ambition:** On the contrary…

 **So Let it be Written:** That’s all you're going to tell me? On the contrary gives the connotation that you mean exactly the opposite. Let me guess, it was Positano, you were 17, and his name was Gianni. Maybe it was Luciano.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Shows what you know. It was Modena, I was 19, and _her_ name was Rachele.

 **So Let it be Written:** Oh. My. God.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I wish I could see your face right now.

 **So Let it be Written:** So do I. Truth or a little embellishment, it just makes me like you more. I like your spunk.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I like that you make me feel better on bad days.

Dave nodded as he sipped his scotch. The closer they got to Tuesday, it was just two days away now, the calmer he felt. The nerves nearly knocked him over on the day he asked her out. Those feelings were practically foreign to him. It was uncomfortable and fascinating at the same time. 

Even at his age something new could still happen and that excited him. There was something about this woman. She was warm, familiar; talking to her made Dave feel like he'd known her forever. That usually translated to something good attraction wise. 

Blonde Ambition seemed like the kind of woman where even if a romance wasn’t in the cards Dave would still want to be friends with her. He liked talking to her, liked listening to her. It seemed like forever since he just exhaled and got to know someone. Between the FBI and writing it wasn’t as if he had huge amounts of free time. Blonde Ambition made him want to create some.

 **So Let it be Written:** It really is my pleasure. I have varying degrees of relationships with my exes so I understand what you're going through. I feel lucky that there are many, many miles between us. I feel lucky that I met someone like you.

 **Blonde Ambition:** You make me blush.

 **So Let it be Written:** David. My name is David.

 **Blonde Ambition:** It is?

 **So Let it be Written:** Yes. You don’t have to tell me your name if you're not quite comfortable yet. We’ll see each other in a few days.

 **Blonde Ambition:** David.

There were a million men in the world named David. There were probably five million. He also mentioned he was Italian and twice divorced but that would take the number down to two million. Erin was being paranoid. And how strange would it look if she suddenly began to bombard him with questions. _Where were you on the night of December 5, 1987_? 

He was a writer, he had a dog, and he traveled for work…too many coincidences usually meant no coincidence at all. Now was definitely the time to light a cigarette. Erin knew there was no way in hell she was talking to David Rossi on the other end of her laptop. The universe could be cruel but that was too much. She shouldn’t even be thinking about him right now.

 **Blonde Ambition:** David.

 **So Let it be Written:** You like my name?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I like that you call me Blondie. You’ve done that a few times.

 **So Let it be Written** The first time it happened, I cringed. I liked it but I also know that women don’t like to be addressed that way by strangers. You didn’t say anything the next time we spoke so… It’s not my intent to make a habit out of it. It just slips.

 **Blonde Ambition:** Let it keep slipping.

 **So Let it be Written:** Yes ma'am.

 **Blonde Ambition:** But don’t call me ma'am. I hear that one all day and it drives me crazy. Not that I don’t like my position, as I've said I worked hard for it. It’s just that sometimes I feel like I no longer have a name once I walk through the door. I'm ma'am. Being Blondie is nice.

 **So Let it be Written:** Blondie and David sounds like a road trip movie. Where do you want to go?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I don’t even want to fantasize about such a thing. Well actually I do but there's work in the morning. No fair.

 **So Let it be Written:** Is now the time to mention that I don’t always play fair?

 **Blonde Ambition:** I gathered that about you. I like that about you.

 **So Let it be Written:** It’s getting late.

 **Blonde Ambition:** I don’t care.

 **So Let it be Written:** Neither do I.

 **Blonde Ambition:** It looks like we’re on the same page tonight.

 **So Let it be Written:** Is that a writer joke? *g*

***

It was raining again but Erin wasn’t bothered. Spring had finally come to DC and everyone was glad to see it. She could feel the warmth under the precipitation as she stood outside of Tryst. There were plenty of people going in and coming out with cardboard cups of coffee. Erin puffed on a Marlboro Mild hoping she could finish before David, Italian, but damn sure not Rossi, arrived. 

All day at Quantico she’d been distracted by the thought of being with him later. He sent her an instant message, reiterating that he was looking forward to tonight. She reminded him to bring his book. He reminded her to bring the Kim Novak. He made Erin laugh. 

At six o’clock she went into the bathroom to change. Though she pinned her hair up perfectly like the Hitchcock femme fatale, Erin went casual in every other aspect. She wore dark rinse boot cut jeans, a pair of black leather boots, a red v-neck, ribbed shell, and a black leather blazer. It was just coffee…she didn’t need to put on a cocktail dress. Stomping the half-smoked cigarette under her foot, Erin tried to shake off the jitters. 

She was a 50 year old woman so this wasn’t her first blind date. She didn’t even know if calling it a date was the right thing. It was a public well-lit area so she didn’t have to worry about being snatched into a van. If it wasn’t going well she’d already devised plans to gracefully exit. Neither one of them made any audacious promises. They just wanted to meet.

Erin almost fainted when she felt the tap on her shoulder. She gripped the umbrella handle until her knuckles were white. It was now or never…she needed to turn around. There could be a million men over her shoulder but the most important thing was that it was So Let it be Written.

“Hey Blondie.” David Rossi smiled when he saw her.

“Did you set this up on purpose?” Instinctually, she let him under her umbrella. 

Her tone sounded angrier than she felt. At the moment Erin had no idea how to feel. It was like being surprised and not surprised at the same time. What could she do with that? She just stared at him.

Dave was casual too in blue jeans, black shirt, and a black sports jacket. And he smelled incredible. Erin committed the scent to memory. It mixed perfectly with the rain.

“Me, join a website just to find you out of everyone in the whole wide world? I could get on the elevator in Quantico and do the same thing with less hassle. This was fate.”

“You’ve been married three time.”

“I planned to ease you into that fact.”

“Did you bring my book?” she asked.

“It’s in my bag.” He tapped the strap on his shoulder. “You definitely brought the Kim Novak; you look amazing. Do you wanna get some coffee?”

“Yeah.” Erin nodded, smiling despite herself.

“Good, me too.”

***


End file.
